Mississippi Department of Education Mathematics Instructional Coaching Services
Assets & Needs Assessment
March 2022
As part of the first Assets & Needs Assessment, Teaching Lab conducted a variety of data collection activities, including surveys and assessments for participating teachers, their students, and families.
Section 1: Mindsets
Teachers responded to seven items about mindsets, including three items related to equitable mindsets and four items related to holding high expectations for all students on a 5-point Likert scale. Composite measures were created for each construct by reverse coding some items and then averaging responses across items. In this way, higher scores correspond to holding equitable mindsets and high expectations.
Overall Mindsets Score
Equitable Mindsets items
High Expectations items
Teachers also responded to six items about self-confidence in their ability to engage in culturally responsive and sustaining education (CRSE) practices on a scale from 0 (not at all confident) to 10 (extremely confident). Responses were averaged across items. Higher scores correspond to higher self confidence.
CRSE Summary
CRSE Items
Section 2: Knowledge
Teachers answered eight questions related to content and pedagogical content knowledge, including strategies for students with unfinished learning and equitable instruction. The score below is the overall percent correct (note: some questions had multiple correct answers and were worth more than one point).
| Percent Correct | |
|---|---|
Overall % Correct |
66% |
Which of the following actions best describes equitable instructional strategies for supporting students with unfinished learning in math |
48% |
Ms clark is preparing to teach a new unit and the first lesson builds off of work from the previous grade level she has identified 6 students who have unfinished learning around this topic in her class of 25 and she determines that students need to have a conceptual understanding of the topic but not necessarily procedural skill to fully engage in the lesson select all strategies that will best support her students pull the 6 students for a small group to discuss the connections between different strategies they ve used in previous grades |
100% |
When supporting students with unfinished learning which of the following are missteps when it comes to maintaining focus and coherence select all that apply trying to address every gap a student has |
100% |
Which of the following is the most effective at addressing unfinished learning |
16% |
| n = 121 | |
Section 3: Practices
Teaching Lab staff observed teachers using the IPG rubric. Ratings of 3 and 4 on 4-point Likert scales and Yes on a Yes/No items were considered positive.
IPG Ratings
Core Action 1
Core Action 2
Core Action 3
Section 4: Student Learning Experiences
Teachers administered a student survey to at least one of their groups. Using 5-point Likert-type scales, students responded to eight items related to their teachers’ engagement in CRSE practices, three items related to teacher-student relationships, five items about self-efficacy, six items about happiness and sense of belonging, and five items about being challenged. Responses were averaged across items. Higher scores correspond to more positive experiences.
Section 5: Student Math Proficiency
Teachers collected student work samples of a task that involved explaining mathematical thinking or reasoning from all students in at least one of their groups. Teaching Lab coaches first determined if the task was on grade-level. If so, then the work samples were scored using a 2-point rubric.
Section 6: Family Experiences & Perceptions
Schools and teachers assisted in sending home a voluntary survey to their students’ families. Using Likert-type scales, caregivers responded to seven items related to teacher-family relationships and support, five items related to teacher-student relationships, and two items related to their child’s learning. Responses were averaged across items. Higher scores correspond to more positive family perceptions and experiences.
Caregiver Perceptions of Student Learning
How many assignments does your child complete?
Which best matches your belief about your child’s experience so far this year?
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